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Good Pickings

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love. (verses 1-3)

I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it… (verses 4-6)

Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

“On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets, and you shall offer a burnt offering, for a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the ram, and one tenth for each of the seven lambs; with one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you; besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and its grain offering, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offering, according to the rule for them, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.

“On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work, but you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma… (verses 1-8a)

Crista’s thoughts on her art follow:

Throughout Numbers 29, God commands His people to take a Sabbath and present a pleasing aroma to Him. … Continue Reading

The story is simple. It is rooted in military realities and in far grander realities too.

My husband is a Marine. Our life’s rhythms are intricately tied to and dictated by the Marine Corps. It is a life we love and one that leaves us shaking our heads and feeling entirely off-kilter sometimes.

When I set out to launch this blog, Nathan and I anticipated (as much as a Marine Corps family can reliably anticipate) that 2014 and 2015 would look a certain way. Then during the first week of November last year, a surprise assignment came Nathan’s way, and the whole scenario changed rapidly. Now our life looks dramatically different than we expected it would—without getting into the details, one direct result is that I no longer have the capacity to manage both my family’s needs and this site’s needs well. I expect that to be the case for quite a length of time. With that in mind, I’ve made the decision to halt the postings here.… Continue Reading

Why We’re Here

"...the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'" Luke 10:41-42 ESV